Hertz blamed for bizarre actions against its car rental customers

Whether traveling for business or pleasure, many people are familiar with the usual concerns over finding a good rental car, when one is needed.

These include cost, the size of the car, the type and make of the car and whether to purchase the available insurance.

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They certainly should not have to worry that the company they are renting from might have such problems with its record-keeping that it might report your rental car as stolen — and that error might get you arrested.

That’s exactly what has happened to more than one Hertz  (HTZ) – Get Free Report customer, according to travel writer Gary Leff of View From the Wing.

“They regularly think their cars have been stolen, and have reported them stolen, when they still had the cars and were renting them out,” Leff wrote. “That got their customers arrested, sometimes at gunpoint, and then they’ve been unwilling to retract false police reports out of fear that the retractions would lead police to stop trusting their false reports.”

Leff offered two specific examples of incidents such as this that he reported on Jan. 4.

Connie Totman, who rented a car from Hertz in South Carolina and returned the car in Georgia. Hertz subsequently overcharged Ms. Totman in error and falsely reported the vehicle as stolen to South Carolina police. Because of this false theft report, Ms. Totman was then arrested on three separate occasions, twice in Georgia and once in South Carolina, over the course of a year. Charges against her were ultimately dismissed.

Saleema Lovelace, who was arrested at gunpoint two days before the date on which she had agreed to return her rental car to Hertz. Despite paying for her rental in full, Hertz reported the vehicle as stolen after deleting records of Ms. Lovelace’s payment and of her rental extension agreements. Ms. Lovelace remains under ongoing prosecution today.

Another episode is under scrutiny

On Dec. 31, 2023, a Hertz customer, identifying with the handle MitzEclipse on the travel forum Flyertalk, was picking up a rental vehicle from Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The renter, traveling with family on New Year’s Eve, checked into the Hertz desk with a credit card and driver’s license, then was told to select a car.

The customer explained in detail what happened next.

At the exit gate, the agent there re-checked my ID and credit card then, after 20 mins, told me there was an issue with my reservation and I had to go back to the reservation desk. This meant backing up and having to drive into the parking garage.

Once I got to the Hertz Gold Plus Desk, the agent told me I could not rent a car because I am on a Do Not Rent list. I found this shocking, especially as I was not told there was any issue at the desk prior to getting into the car or checking my ID. Furthermore, I had just rented a car with Avis in SFO and dropped it off the same day, Sunday morning Dec 31. I escalated to the Manager on duty and she did not offer any alternatives, rather to phone the Do Not Rent number. The issue is that the hotline was not open Sunday evening, hence there would be no way for me to rent a car with Hertz that evening! I was even told the Do Not Rent list was not just Hertz specific, rather I would also be on the list on other companies.

I then had to unload all of our luggage and kids from the car seats and had to find an alternative. I then proceeded to other rental car desks and found a solution with SIXT. They offered me an SUV and I had no issues renting the car from them. We finally exited the car rental parking garage, almost 3 hours later, and headed to our destination — no issues on any Do Not Rent list.

The customer added a list of questions.

• “Why was I put on this Do Not Rent list?”
• “Why was I not informed about this Do Not Rent list when checking in?”
• “How do I get removed from this Do Not Rent list?”
• “What will Hertz do to compensate for this disappointing Presidents Circle customer experience?”

At the time of publication, Hertz has not responded to an emailed request for comment on the incident.

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